(500) Days of Summer: Wish/ If Only

This is a great movie and this scene is perfect to practice the use of wish and if only, because it shows at the same time what the main character expected to happen before his date and what actually happened . The contextualization is perfect for this grammar point.






I. Watch the movie segment. Tom wanted his expectations to align with reality. Read what his expectations are and then write sentences paraphrasing his expectations, using wish or if only. Finally, write another sentence explaining what actually happened.


HIS EXPECTATIONS BEFORE THE DATE:


1. She will hug him tenderly when she receives his gift.

Ex: He wished she would hug him tenderly when she received the gift, but she just thanked him.

2. He will spend the whole dinner romantically talking to her.

.............................................................

3. He will give her a passionate kiss.

.............................................................

4. She will fall in love with him.

.............................................................

5. He will leave the dinner party with her.

............................................................

6. They will make up and be together forever.

............................................................




Answer Key:


Possible answers

1. He wished she would hug him tenderly when she received the gift, but she just thanked him.

2. If only he would spend the whole dinner romantically talking to her, but he ended up talking to her boring friends.

3. He wished he would give her a passionate kiss during the dinner party, but she didn't give him a chance to do it.

4. If only she would fall in love with him, but she had gotten engaged with another guy.

5. He wished he would leave the party with her, but he went home alone.

6. He wished they would make up and be together forever, but that didn't happen.




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MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - (500) DAYS OF SUMMER

Kangaroo Jack: Wish / If Only

This is a funny scene that takes place in Australia. My students had a great time watching it and doing the grammar exercises.



A. Talk to a partner about the following questions:



1 - What would you do if you ran over an animal in the middle of the road? Justify your answer.

2 - What do you know about Australia? Share what you know with your partner.

3 - Are you an adventurous person? Tell your partner about one great adventure of yours.

4 - Have you ever been to a safari? Would you like to go on one? Why (not)?



B. Watch the movie segment and fill in the blanks with the simple past tense of the verbs in parentheses. Use either either affirmative or negative forms, according to the segment.

Charlie, the kangaroo and Louis

1. Charlie _________________ (drive) too fast on such a dangerous road.

2. They __________________ (pay) attention to the wild animals on the road.



3. Charlie _________________(run over) a kangaroo.



4. Louis ________________ (put) on his jacket on the kangaroo.



5. Louis __________________ (check) what was in the pockets.



6. They _________________ (kill) the kangaroo.



7. They _________________ (crash) their car into a rock.



8. Charlie _________________ (be) kicked by the kangaroo.



9. The kangaroo __________________(hop) away with their money.

C. Rewrite the sentences above using wish and if only to express regrets.

Ex: 1. Charlie wishes he hadn't driven too fast on such a dangerous road.

2. If only they had paid attention to the animals on the road.

How to prepare your own video activity.

- Select a scene in which the characters regret their actions.

- Prepare an exercise in which the students have to decide whether they use affirmative or negative sentences about their wrong choices.

- Ask students to rewrite the sentences using the grammar goal.

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